Chapter Seven

Kayla waited for Cliff outside the restoration chamber. The light on the control panel finally turned green, signaling the completion of the radiation bath. She opened the door slightly, just enough to get her arm in. She held out an orange jumpsuit for him.

"What is this for? I'm a prisoner now!?"

"No silly," Kayla laughed, "You're filthy, is what you are! You need a shower before you change back into your regular clothes."

"Oh. Right. I should've thought of that."

"Don't sweat it. This was your first time. Hand me your clothes. I'll hang onto them for you."

Cliff picked his clothing up from the corner of the restoration chamber. He traded with Kayla, taking the standard prison issue one-piece and giving her his neatly folded work clothes.

She shut the door while he changed into his new day-glow uniform. When the door popped open a moment later, she was ready with her cellphone's camera.

"Hey stop it! You're taking pictures, aren't you?"

"This is so going on my Facebook page!" she laughed.

Cliff reached for her phone, but she twisted her arm behind her back where he couldn't get to it. She backed away from him, sticking her tongue out. He pushed her up against the wall, holding her there.

"You smell like an old shoe!"

"Yeah, YOURS. Whose fault is that?"

"Whatever, you still need a shower."

Cliff gave her his best winning smile. "You love me, don't you?"

"I never said that!" she giggled.

He pulled her closer to him, pressing his lips into hers. There was no hesitation at all; she returned his kiss instantly. He could feel her enjoying the kiss, feel her body responding to his every touch. He was the first to pull away, gently pushing her back. "I love you too."

"You have something in your hair." Kayla pulled a long pink thread loose from Cliff's hair. "I think that's from inside my slipper. Gross." She shook the greasy fiber from her fingers, watching it drift to the floor.

"That's nothing, you should see the sock lint from between your toes! I brushed it off inside the restoration chamber."

"Liarrr!" she gasped. "I didn't even wear socks today!"

"Well it came from somewhere..." he teased.

"If you ever want to do this again, you better shut up."

"Shutting up," Cliff leaned forward kissing her cheek. "It was great."

She took his hand and started walking. "Come on, stinky, the staff shower is this way."

Kayla noticed him sneaking peeks at her feet as they walked. "You're unbelievable! Didn't you already get enough today?"

"I could never get enough of you." he admitted shamelessly.

"Here we are." Kayla pushed him into a locker room, following closely behind him. "Go clean yourself up, stinky." She took a bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo out of her locker for Cliff. "The towels are over there."

Cliff slipped out of his jumpsuit, stepping into the shower. "Aren't you going to join me?" he teased.

"Nope. Look up in the corner. See the camera?"

"What!? In the shower?"

"This is a maximum security prison Cliff. The cameras are everywhere. I know the old fart who watches the monitors, Norris. He's not paying attention. He sees people in the shower all the time. But if we put on our own little sex show, THAT he might watch."

"No thanks, I don't feel like making a porno for Norris."

"Me either... I'll wait out here." Kayla took a seat on the end of a long bench between two rows of lockers. She watched the steam begin to rise from the shower stall, listening to the sound of the water buffeting Cliff's body.

"You don't have to just sit there while I bathe. I'm sure you need to get back to work."

"Actually, visitors are supposed to be accompanied by a member of the prison staff at all times. So technically, I AM working. It's prison policy, to prevent security breaches or accidents." Kayla had to speak loudly, over the sounds of the shower.

"Accidents, you mean like Luiza almost stepping on me?" Cliff called out to her.

"I said I was sorry! I didn't know she was in there. Besides, that only happened because you were hiding in her shoe! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was tiny! I thought if I stayed out in the open, the humongous prisoner would mistake me for a bug."

"Luiza wouldn't have done anything to you. She's terrified of bugs. She probably would have run away from you."

"Okay, well, I didn't know that Kayla! How was I supposed to know that? She was huge! I had to hide. I didn't know what else to do."

"Anyway, it's fine, nobody got hurt. Let's just forget about it and move on."

"Is she really a prisoner here? Luiza seems so kind and gentle. What did she do?"

"She's not just a prisoner. She's on death row."

"You're kidding? How did that happen!?"

"Her husband abused her. He nearly beat her to death, more than once. I know because I read her file. She didn't press charges and she didn't leave him. I guess she didn't have anywhere else to go."

"That's awful! Why would they lock her up for that?"

"I'm getting to that part... So, he stopped beating her. Maybe he got bored, who knows? She came home from her job early one night and found her husband in bed, asleep with a young girl lying beside him. Luiza took his gun and shot him, while he was sleeping. Later in court, she said she did it because she didn't want him to hurt anyone else the way he had hurt her."

"But the girl Luiza caught him with, she's fine though?"

"Right, Luiza didn't lay a finger on her. The girl was the one who called 911. According to the reports, Luiza was just standing there, like a statue. She didn't say anything, didn't move. She was still holding the empty gun when the police arrested her."

"Sounds like the bastard had it coming."

"The jury didn't see it that way. They couldn't rule self defense, because according to the prosecutor, Luiza was in no immediate danger. When the police found her, she didn't have a scratch on her, not a single bruise. And she could have left her husband at any time. He wasn't holding her hostage. Legally, she had no reason to kill him."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense, from a legal standpoint. But it still doesn't feel right."

"I know what you mean. I keep praying some judge will overturn her conviction. She's nearly exhausted her appeals, and then... I hope they don't pick me. I couldn't do that to her, not Luiza. She doesn't deserve to suffer like that."

"It won't come to that Kayla. Try to stay positive. Maybe she'll be okay. Good things happen all the time."

"I hope so."

Cliff turned off the water. He dried himself off, then wrapped the towel around himself, stepping out of the shower. "Have you ever thought of quitting? I'm not telling you what to do or anything like that! But you could you know, if you wanted to."

Kayla scooted to the side, making room for Cliff. "Sit down."

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." Cliff could tell he had stumbled onto a sensitive subject. Kayla didn't look happy. "I didn't mean anything by it." He sat down quietly beside her.

"I'm not mad at you. I don't like talking about this. But we're together now, you deserve to know. I don't want to keep secrets."

"I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable..."

"When I was little, my big brother died. Billy was murdered--"

"Jesus Kayla, I'm so sorry. I had no idea!"

"Don't interrupt me. I'm going to say this, and then I'm going to cry. And then you're going to hold me."

Cliff massaged her back tenderly, rubbing his hand along the small of her back. She was already trembling slightly.

"Our parents were never really there for us. They weren't bad parents or anything like that, but they worked, all the time. They were never home. But that was okay, because I had Billy. He was the best big brother in the world. He helped me study. He played with me. He even tried to cook sometimes. It was never very good, but I ate it anyway. But the cruel bitch who murdered him didn't care about any of that. He was nothing to her. She took my big brother away from me."

Cliff held Kayla in his arms. A moment ago, she was happy. Now she was a quivering, bawling mess. He held her tightly against his chest. He didn't know what to say. Maybe there was nothing TO say.

"After that," she sniffled, still crying; "our parents split up. I was shuffled around between babysitters most of the time. When I turned 16, I moved out. I thought I would be better off on my own. It was lonely, but I made it work. Pam helped."

"I'm sorry Kayla, so sorry. I wish I could have met your brother. He sounds amazing."

"I'm going to kill her."

"What? Who?"

"The bitch who murdered Billy. She's here, in this prison, on death row. Her time is almost up. That execution is MINE. I'll be the one who takes her life from her."

Cliff looked deep into Kayla's eyes. At first, he had thought she was sad. Now he realized what was really going on. She was seething with rage. She hid it well, but in that moment she revealed it to him, like some great secret she had been keeping buried inside herself.

"I can't quit until Alana Masterson is gone, gone forever. She's going to scream, and beg, and suffer. I'm not doing it for Billy. He wouldn't want that. I'm doing it for myself, I know that. I'm going to hurt that heartless bitch, like she hurt me."

He put his hand on the back of Kayla's head, pressing her face into his chest while she sobbed. "You don't have to say anything else. I understand. You do what you need to do." Cliff pressed his lips into her forehead. "I'll still love you."

"I still miss him," she cried. "It's been years since I lost Billy and it still hurts so much."

Cliff held her tighter. He knew there was nothing he could say that would take her pain away.